Bengaluru: Intensifying the heat on the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Mahadayi river water dispute, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, Dr G. Parameshwar, on Monday dared the BJP leaders in the state and Goa to declare their stand on the dispute instead of indulging in letter politics.
Speaking to reporters here, Dr Parameshwar said, “Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar should have written either to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah or to the Chief Secretary instead of writing to BJP state president, B.S. Yeddyurappa. Reading out a letter in a public rally cannot be construed as a government document, it is a mere exchange of letters between two individuals.”
Answering a question, Dr Parameshwar shot back that state Congress leaders will surely take the lead to convince their counterparts in Goa, if Mr Parrikar writes to the state government.
“The question is not about how and what the Goa Congress will do on this issue. The question is what Goa BJP leaders will do to resolve this vexed issue. Their Chief Minister has written to Yeddyurappa. Goa BJP leaders therefore have a greater responsibility to find a solution than Goa Congress leaders,” he reasoned.
Replying to another question, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president refused to react to the state government constituting an expert panel to look into the demands of Lingayats and Veerashaivas stating that the Congress party does not have a stand on this issue.
“This issue is between the state government and community leaders. The Congress party will never like to be linked with this issue,” Dr Parameshwar said.
